Centre court doubles as fashion runway

AAPThe West Australian

Friday, 15 January 2010 3:36PM

Centre court has become the new runway for major sports brands to launch the latest trends in women's fashion.

For sportswear empires such as Nike, Puma and adidas the grand slam tennis circuit, led by the Australian Open, are increasingly targeted as style laboratories where superstar players launch cutting-edge apparel, colours trends and fabric technologies before millions of potential consumers.

Equally, blue-chip jewellery companies are also vying for a share of the centre court spotlight, aligning their products with top-ranked female tennis players who attract a global fashionista following.

Young, beautiful, rich and style forward, the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are the new cover girls for product endorsement worth millions of dollars in earning power.

Williams is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world, with her career prize money totalling more than $US28.5 million ($30 million).

According to Forbes Magazine, the flamboyant dresser also earns around $US6 million per year from product endorsements.

From head-to-toe, Serena and her sister Venus have ignored tennis dress tradition to introduce sexy on-court outfits that flash bare arms and dramatic colours that have left players dressed in white looking out-dated in comparison.

While the Williams sisters are famous for setting outlandish tennis trends including ultra-fluoros and even gladiator-style leggings. The counter to their bling is the more classic Sharapova.

Ranked the world's No.14 female tennis player, Sharapova has wasted little time since her arrival in Melbourne to start her brand ambassador duties.

These have included hosting a night with Tiffany & Co. on January 13 at the Melbourne store followed by officially opening the new Swiss luxury watch retailer Tag Heuer flagship boutique on January 14.

"It's a really classy sport and there are two people standing on the court and all eyes are upon them and, more often than not, most tennis players are admired by people and when you have that it creates trends," he said.

But for Sharapova, her after-hour duties are nothing compared to when she struts out onto the Australian Open centre court like it's a catwalk, wearing the latest designs Nike has especially created for the company's prized model.

The 22-year-old Russian is set to launch the Golden Set Dress that Nike promises will kick off the grand slam season with the most fashionable and technologically advanced designs yet.

The Australian Open will be the first time she will wear this innovative design.

"It's really incredible to be able to bring these looks that I love to so many women," Sharapova said.

"I am equally excited about working with the design team at Nike to see how much more innovative we can get crossing fashion-forward designs with high-performance fabrics and silhouettes."

No matter how photogenic Sharapova is, just how much fashion can Nike afford to push within its female athletes' sports gear?

"All of our tennis apparel and footwear is first and foremost performance focused to enable the athlete to perform at the highest level," said Stefanie Bourke, Nike Pacific's tennis product manager.

"We want to help our athletes be the best they can be, and look great on court."

Nike is savvy enough to know that all sports and no fashion play may not result in strong consumer retail results.

Fans do not just want to watch their tennis heroines, but dress like them too.

"At Nike, we aim to deliver a product to our athletes that not only performs on-court but reflects the personality of the individual athlete," Ms Bourke said.

"Take for example Maria Sharapova's dress for the Australian Open. This elegant, fashion-forward design was based on a sketch by Maria, and our aim of working with her was to strike the perfect balance between aesthetic appeal and flawless performance."

Tennis fashion has undergone a dramatic revolution from traditional whites into a kaleidoscope of camera-friendly colours and flesh-revealing styles that can at times look more appropriate for nightclub wear.

How quickly do centre court trends become assimilated into the general street fashion scene?

The revolution of women's tennis wear first began when French tennis champion Suzanne Lenglen wore Jean Patou on the grass courts at Wimbledon in the 1920s.

But the introduction of carbon fibre tennis racquets and high-tech footwear from the mid-1980s has resulted in powerhouse performances.

The faster, louder and more visually excessive that tennis becomes, the grander the prize money and endorsements opportunities.

However, in the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal that saw numerous brands including Tag Heuer end their relationships with the golf star, a new set of rules has emerged for what makes the right brand ambassador.

"With Maria she's not only a champion on the court, she's a champion off the court and she's somebody people really look up to and admire," said Mr Schlehuber, of Tiffany & Co.

"You have to be a good person and honest with integrity both on and off the court and I think it's extremely important that you have to live your life consistently."